In the Marvel Universe: I can summon items from all dimensions.

Chapter 99 The Water God's Pearl and the Ghost Shark

There are too many fish.

Most people might find this a strange reason, since there aren't many dangerous fish living near corals, and they're quite beautiful, so why would they become an obstacle to obtaining treasures?

But Kaito Kuroba is different. As the Phantom Thief Kid, whose fame has spread all over the world, he has a very embarrassing weakness: he is extremely afraid of fish. He is so afraid that if he comes into contact with a fish unexpectedly, it will produce a sharp explosion.

Although I don't really understand how someone with this condition could grow up safely in an island nation like Japan, that's just how the story is written. As long as I understand that such a thing exists, that's enough.

Even so, we still have to complain.

"fish?"

Mason gave a subtle look: "What kind of difficulty is this? Is the Water God Pearl being guarded by a group of sharks that jumped out of a horror movie?"

He meant to ease the tension, but to his surprise—Kaito Kuroba nodded in astonishment, hissed, and then asked, "How did you know?"

"ha?"

Now it was Mason's turn to be dumbfounded. "Really—really?"

"Yeah, there really were!" Kaito Kuroba said in a pained tone, slapping his thigh. "More than a hundred sharks were circling that coral! More than a hundred! They were completely disregarding basic ecological knowledge! I almost got eaten up by those sharks, boat and all!"

"Ah, this—" Mason scratched his head, "You've really had a tough time—"

"I now fully understand that finding these so-called divine beads is a complete trap—" Kaito Kuroba said sadly, burying his face in his hands. "I've checked all the locations Akako gave me these past few days—and guess what? None of them are in a place a normal person could reach. The Flame Bead is hidden inside Mount Aso, the Golden Fox Bead is buried in an iron mine, and the Frost Bead is sunk deep in a bay in Hokkaido. I dived down to take a look, and I found a huge ice pyramid on the seabed. The Frost Bead is inside it, and I can't get it out at all!"

At this point, he took a couple of deep breaths before continuing, "As for that prize jewel, we have absolutely no clue about it. The only thing we have a chance of getting is the Great Buddha Beads. Those things are the white hair between the eyebrows of a great Buddha statue in the Golden Pavilion, which is considered Kaito Kid's area of ​​expertise—but I suspect it's probably not that simple. If we touch it rashly, we might end up in a very bad situation."

Mason paused for a moment, then grasped the key point: "So—you haven't gotten a single bead in the past few days?"

"How can you blame me?!" Kaito Kuroba yelled in frustration. "With this kind of underworld hiding method, the fact that I was able to investigate the whole area in such a short time is already a testament to my exceptional professionalism!"

Let's just say that's how it is.

Mason shrugged and said, "In short, I think you really need some professional technical assistance."

"————" Kaito Kuroba sighed deeply: "Let's just leave it at that — after all, I'm not investigating these damn beads to make a wish, but to rush to save someone — I don't even know how Akako is right now, I really can't afford to delay any longer."

Such words of loyalty and righteousness should not be ridiculed. According to Kaito Kuroba, he has probably been spinning like a top for the past few days, just to save his friends. His actions are worthy of respect no matter where they are taken.

"I see."

Mason nodded: "In that case, let's bring in the professionals."

Upon hearing this, Kaito Kuroba immediately looked up: "So you mean—you guys have a lot of experience beating up sharks?"

"What a strange experience—" Mason shrugged. "Whatever it is, let's go check it out first."

And so, the group left the land on the yacht and came to the shallow sea area, a journey of less than ten minutes each way.

Before approaching a certain area of ​​sea, Kaito Kuroba stopped the boat and pointed ahead, saying, "It's over there. Within a radius of about half a nautical mile, there are many sharks swimming in circles. If Akako's information is correct, the Water God Pearl is in a piece of coral in the middle. As soon as I dived, more than a dozen of them rushed at me. If I hadn't run fast, I would have become fish food."

99

"That doesn't make sense."

----------------

Mason stroked his chin and said, "This area isn't exactly uninhabited, is it? If there were that many sharks swimming around, they would have been spotted long ago, and the Japan Coast Guard would have been contacted to eliminate the danger."

"I know that kind of thing too—"

Kaito Kuroba coughed a few times: "But sharks—I'm really not good at dealing with them—some things just won't work—I can figure out how to cut up an underwater pyramid or steal the treasures from the Golden Pavilion in broad daylight, but sharks are just—"

"Look at how pathetic you are."

Mason curled his lip: "Just a shark—what can you do about it?"

The next question was directed at Okita Souji and Paracelsus.

"Well—" Upon hearing this question, Okita Souji's expression suddenly became a little awkward. "As you know, I'm not a good swimmer, Master. My lungs aren't very strong, and I often choke on water. Fighting a shark underwater would be a bit—"

That's true, it's indeed a bit too much for her to handle.

"Underwater work—it's not impossible, but it takes time to prepare the corresponding spells." Paracelsus shrugged helplessly. "Without materials and magic—it would take at least a week to prepare, but I can try to provide some technical support on the ship."

Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice, I understand.

But with all three teammates saying they were helpless against the water, it seemed that only Mason was left who could take action.

"If that's the case—"

Mason scratched his head: "Let's move the boat forward, and while we're at it, get me a steel cable or something. I want to see if the sharks can tear me apart and eat me."

"Are we really going to do that?" Kaito Kuroba hissed. "Those sharks are terrifying!"

"It's alright, please trust my professional competence."

"—I warned you."

Kaito Kuroba swallowed hard, then slowly steered the boat forward.

After moving forward a few hundred meters, he stopped the boat again, rummaged through the toolbox at his feet, and found a diving suit, a safety belt, and a retractable monocular underwater telescope, which he handed to Mason. Then he pulled a steel cable from the stern, ready to fasten it to the safety belt.

But Mason's actions seemed absurd to him. He simply put on his swim cap and fins, without even glancing at his wetsuit and oxygen tank, and started putting on his safety harness as if he intended to go into the water right then and there.

Noticing Kaito Kuroba's gaze, he turned around, gave a thumbs-up, and smiled, "Only cowards need oxygen tanks!"

"You owe me an apology for all the thousands of years of human diving history!" Kaito Kuroba exclaimed loudly. "Even magicians can't play like this!"

"It's only because I'm a magician that I can play like this. If you see me pulling on the steel cable, remember to pull me up." Mason fastened the steel cable to his belt, then picked up his binoculars, went to the ship's side, and jumped into the deep blue sea without hesitation.

"----no----"

Kaito Kuroba, who had no chance to stop them, was almost going crazy. He looked up at Okita Souji and Paracelsus and said, "Are all you magicians this brave?"

"Just basic operation."

Paracelsus smiled and said, "He's just maximizing his abilities."

"Speaking of which—although he possesses a considerable degree of immortality, Master's courage is truly extraordinary."

Okita Souji poked his head out and watched Mason gradually turn into a black shadow and disappear beneath the water's surface. He couldn't help but sigh, "So, people who want to save the world all have a crazy side? His and Ritsuka's two ways of expressing themselves are both very interesting."

"Mason, enter the water."

He emptied his lungs within seconds and immediately sank into the water.

The water quality in this area was quite good. After he opened his eyes and adjusted to the underwater environment, he found that he could see the scenery several tens of meters away—which was quite good by underwater standards.

The feeling of oxygen deprivation quickly turned into a dizzying pain, which is normal. After all, humans will start to feel unwell after a few seconds of oxygen deprivation and die after a few minutes. Mason didn't bring an oxygen tank with him, and after exhaling all the air, all he could breathe into his lungs was seawater with a salt content of about 35%.

By human standards, this is an extremely painful experience, no less so than broken limbs or severe burns. After all, when one is unable to breathe, one's senses become blurred, making it difficult to perceive anything else.

Mason was no exception.

After diving to a depth of more than ten meters, he could no longer bear the feeling of suffocation. After taking a deep breath of seawater, he almost passed out. Then his consciousness became blurred, and he sank like a weight. If there were people watching, they would probably think that he was already a corpse.

But in the next instant, the light energy became active.

The brain, which had begun to be damaged due to lack of oxygen, was forcibly "refreshed," the pain lessened, and the body was able to move freely again—in this way, after being repaired, the pain caused by drowning was reduced to a very small level.

Although he couldn't get oxygen from it, Mason directly used the seawater as something he could breathe—a feeling that ordinary people could never experience: "washing their lungs with salt water while conscious." The pain was mixed with a strange sense of comfort. In this way, Mason explored a kind of "boundary" of human senses.

A strange achievement has been made.

Although diving without oxygen was just to show off, and also to test whether I could move around in an oxygen-deficient environment.

The result was quite good. Not only was it able to move, but it also quickly adapted to the underwater environment and could swim freely in a relatively relaxed manner.

Indeed, some of the assumptions we made earlier may have been correct.

After reviewing Cecilia's memories, Mason began to question one aspect of his ability: the inexplicable reduction of pain.

Cecil didn't have that ability; on the contrary, the more injured he was, the sharper his senses became. This gave him a perception ability almost comparable to Spider-Man, but it also made him suffer even more at the hands of Hydra.

Mason, on the other hand, represents the other extreme. As his abilities are used more frequently, his perception of pain seems to gradually decrease, but it doesn't completely disappear. For example, he can now remain unfazed when shot in the chest, but this doesn't mean he can't feel the pain. It simply means the pain has been reduced to a level that is easily tolerable—that's right, it's like his threshold has been raised. The excruciating pain that would make someone writhe on the ground becomes something he can calmly face, like a mosquito bite. Cecil, who is being tortured to death by Hydra, must envy this ability. But conversely, Mason doesn't enjoy the benefits of enhanced senses, so it's a trade-off.

However, to say that Mason has the ability to "reduce pain as the number of times the ability is used increases" is somewhat biased. Based on experience, the pain that is reduced seems to be only "types that have been felt before". For example, after being stabbed by a knife, you can handle the same injury with ease the next time. But if it is burned by flames, the pain will still be there.

In other words, the prerequisite for reduced pain sensitivity is "having experienced the same type of injury". If it is a type of injury that Mason has not experienced, the sensitivity to pain will not change.

Seriously speaking, Mason and Cecil's abilities do have their own strengths and weaknesses. Although the latter has had a tougher time, his potential for growth is not to be underestimated. Moreover, he has a decisive advantage: his physical abilities increase as he stores light energy. When Hydra released him to face off against the Avengers, he even fought the Hulk head-on for a while. Although he ultimately lost, it was enough to show how significant that boost was.

This really frustrated Mason, because so far, he wasn't much stronger than an ordinary person in terms of physical strength. He just relied on the advantage of not being afraid of physical damage to unleash greater power, but in essence, he was still just a mortal. That's why the cyborgs from the brewery used him like a volleyball. If it were Cecil, he could have turned the cyborg into shredded chicken strips on the spot.

That doesn't make sense. Would mutant abilities differ depending on the soul? Or maybe I'm unlocking them incorrectly?

The saying goes that people can only see things that are better than themselves. After witnessing Cecilia's abilities, Mason even gradually began to wonder if he should find someone to push him to his limits and see if he could unlock the physical enhancement skill.

Forget it, if there's no other choice, it's best not to consider those crooked paths. After all, while Cecil is strong enough, his mental state has been tortured into a very abstract state, constantly shouting things like "Long live Hydra." Mason doesn't want to go in that direction.

Afterwards, Mason swam around in the water for a while. Just as he was wondering where the so-called shark had gone, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine. He turned around quickly and saw a gaping maw that was very close to him.

It was a huge predator that was at least four meters long and looked somewhere between a great white shark and a tiger shark!

Honestly, suddenly spotting a shark about to attack you underwater is an exhilarating (and terrifying) experience, especially when its large teeth are already right in front of you and you clearly can't escape.

A jolt of electric shock-like fear flashed through my mind instinctively—we were underwater, and human movement would be hindered by the current, making everything slower than it should be. Moreover, this shark was moving at an almost abnormal speed, looking like some kind of ghost—

—Yes, a ghost.

In a fleeting glance, Mason vaguely noticed that the shark's body seemed to have a semi-transparent texture.

The next instant, a gaping maw, large enough to swallow a child whole, snapped down on Mason.

However, the scene of the body breaking apart and blood mist dissipating did not occur.

Just as Mason intuitively associated with the word "ghost," he passed directly through the shark's body without suffering any direct physical harm.

But it's not that nothing happened.

Mason saw something blurry, soft, reminiscent of slime or clouds, glowing, being bitten in the mouth of a ghost shark and pulled from his body. What followed was an extremely intense chill, as if he had been thrown into an ice cellar, and his hands and feet became stiff.

Even more serious is the fact that there isn't just one ghost shark. Below, numerous shadowy figures are circling and approaching. Upon closer inspection, they are all terrifying ghost sharks.

Oh no, this is bad!

Light energy activated within Mason's body, dispelling the chilling sensation that had almost immobilized him. He then tugged hard on the steel cable around his waist, sending a distress signal to his companions.

Their reaction was incredibly swift. Just as the swarm of ghost sharks was about to reach Mason, a powerful force suddenly yanked him towards the surface, so strong it nearly broke Mason's back.

A dozen seconds later, Mason was pulled out of the water. He grabbed the ladder that had been lowered at the stern of the boat, climbed up in a few quick movements, and then lay down on the spot. After expelling the water from his lungs like a fountain, he began to gasp for breath.

"Sharks are awe-inspiring."

He sighed in that way.